Fri, 10 February 2012
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Kerrin of MyKugelhopf blog shares her latest adventure: Baden-Baden, Germany for baths, beer, Black Forest cake and bretzels.
But back to those baths… Baden-Baden is the ultimate spa town; the name itself, baden, means bath in German. People come here to spend hours in the thermal baths, the healing waters coming straight from the mountains; natural springs rising from depths of around 2000 metres. In the baths, the water temperature ranges from 32 to 42 degrees Celcius / 90 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Take your pick between the ancient Friedrichsbad (Roman-Irish Bath) and the more modern Baths of Caracalla. The former opened 120 years ago, offering elegant surroundings to pamper the rich and famous. It was my first choice from the photos alone, but take note: nudity is 100 percent obligatory, men and women together. And so it was, the modern yet also beautiful Caracalla Therme for us, with its marble columns and turquoise pools, both inside and outside. Also half the price of the other. What to do first? Hot and cold rock grotto, bubbling whirlpools, waterfalls, counter-current pool, massaging water jets, aromatherapy rooms, steam rooms, saunas… It’s all mixed, male and female, bathing suits on the main floor, but fully naked upstairs for more saunas, some even outdoors in little log cabins. Sorry, no photos to document all of that. 
All that sweating worked up an appetite. To the local beer garden it was for a typical, and very seasonal, snack. Beers in laughably large mugs were the minimum size that could be ordered, and baskets of soft, doughy pretzels emptied fast. Best of all, platters of plump white asparagus were on almost every table. Baden-Baden is not only on the Black Forest Spa Route, but also along the Baden Asparagus Route! Baden-Wuerttemberg is one of the most productive asparagus regions in Germany, and the harvesting just began. You can’t go to a single restaurant during this time of year that’s not offering its special Spargel menu. Do take advantage.
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